WNBA: Chicago Sky’s Brianna Turner talks DNC, voting and activism

If anyone best embodies the mantra “more than an athlete,” it would be Chicago Sky forward Brianna Turner.

The outspoken five-year WNBA veteran has been lending her voice to social and political causes from the moment she came into the league in 2019 with the Phoenix Mercury. She fit in quite nicely. One year later, during the height of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, the league was leading the charge on the pertinent issues of police violence, racism and voting rights. WNBA players also were instrumental in the election of Rev. Raphael Warnock to the US Senate, helping him defeat then-Atlanta Dream owner and Georgia incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler in a critical runoff election after she made incendiary remarks about the Black Lives Matter movement.

From there, Turner has harnessed her activism in various ways.

She has regularly used her social media platform to call attention to social issues. Turner is outspoken on everything from reproductive rights to LGBTQ+ rights. She also advocates for trans inclusion in sports, which has been weaponized as a wedge issue in some conservative segments of American society. In 2022, she was on the frontlines in calling for the release of her Mercury teammate Brittney Griner from a Russia penal colony. She also earned her master’s degree in social justice and human rights from Arizona State University.

Turner previously served as a Vice President on the WNBPA Executive Committee, which is involved in everything from the collective bargaining agreement to the league’s social justice efforts. This year, she is Treasurer, while her Sky teammate Elizabeth Williams is the Secretary.

“It’s really exciting to be a part of it and see the behind the scenes stuff,” she said of her WNBPA work in an interview with Swish Appeal.

Now as the country heads into a critical election season, the players of the WNBA are once again looking to do their part. Nneka Ogwumike is heading LeBron James’ “More Than A Vote” organization, which will focus on getting out the vote by amplifying the issue of reproductive rights. Players in the league are already rallying behind the Democratic ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Turner was present at the recent Democratic National Convention in Chicago, watching Vice President Harris accept the nomination alongside teammates Williams and Michaela Onyenwere.

Turner, adopting the activist spirit that WNBA players have long embraced, understands the task at hand.

“I think it’s really important,” she said. “We’ve been very vocal about different social justice measures and we’re always very vocal around election time. Make sure people vote, register to vote, whether they’re voting by mail, voting in person, voting early. So making sure all the fans have all the resources they need to make an informed decision.”

Turner says her venture into activism simply comes from being an informed citizen. In a society which tends to discourage athletes from becoming involved in outside ventures such as politics, she has taken the opposite route.

“I think just the outside world, lived experiences, reading about stuff, seeing stuff, product of my environment, I guess,” she said. Given the majority of players in the WNBA are women of color and/or identify as LGBTQ+, it is not hard to understand the political, social and cultural dynamics that compel players to speak out.

As the election season, just like the WNBA season, heats up, there is bound to be plenty of intensity to go around. In the thick of it, Brianna Turner looks to the power of the vote to calm any nerves, quell any uncertainty and dispel any skepticism about the ability of everyday citizens to make a difference.

“I would definitely say every vote matters,” she said. “I think some people don’t think so because of the Electoral College, but I think if you are able to vote, you have an opportunity to vote and you’re allowed to vote, you should take that opportunity and chance and vote. Take a friend to vote, parents, family and make a group effort to get out and vote.”